


Second changes (old version)

by Retsilia



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Connor-Ending, Gen, It's an AU, a different take, i guess
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-23
Updated: 2019-09-23
Packaged: 2020-10-26 17:21:48
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,486
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20745917
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Retsilia/pseuds/Retsilia
Summary: The revolution had ended. Markus has fled, all the old leaders have been killed, and suddenly Connor is all alone on the podium with thousands of new deviants waiting for him to speak. Amanda tries one last time to take him back and it’s up to Connor to think if he accepts the threat he is now facing and, even worse, presenting. Should he stop himself before everything they had worked for, before everything Markus, North, Simon and Josh had accomplished would be drained dry? Or should he trust in himself and fight to pave a new path for them all?-----"The hundreds of deviants watching him had a variety of emotions on their face: fear, incredulity, suspicion, uncertainty, regret and grief, even anger. Connor recognized them, he felt them. But he needed to do this.He had to do this.But he couldn’t."





	Second changes (old version)

**Author's Note:**

> A take on "Connor ending". What if he didn't pull the trigger?
> 
> Edit: This is an older version. I am keeping it up because of the few comments it received, I like to read them from time to time to gain motivation. Look, guys, I have not abandoned this project! I just haven't written everything in chronological order so it's a little all over the place at the moment, and after I read through some parts I realized I didn't really like how emotional Connor is here. Later chapters are heavily focused on Connor understanding himself among the changing world around him so it just didn't make sense to have him act like this pretty much straight after deviating... I'm also in progress of rewriting some earlier chapters so I have a lot to do still.

When the world returned back to normal Connor felt the cold muzzle of his gun under his chin. His hands were shaking and his heart racing. The hundreds of deviants watching him had a variety of emotions on their face: fear, incredulity, suspicion, uncertainty, regret and grief, even anger. Connor recognized them, he _felt them._ But he needed to do this.

_He had to do this._

But he couldn’t.

His hand shook uncontrollably. Even while he had managed to bring his index finger on the trigger he didn’t have any power to press down. He could feel the saline solution fog up his eyes, ready to form blue thirium tinted tears.

No, he though, frustrated and horrified when his hands refused to heed to his command. No, no, I can’t stop, I can’t, I shouldn’t, _I have to do this!_

He started panicking. He had found the backdoor, hadn’t he? Amanda wasn’t in control, she couldn’t be, it had to be impossible. Kamski had been cryptic about his escape route, sure, but even as slimy as he was he couldn’t have meant it as a simple one-time-offer, right? It had made his consciousness to return from the Zen garden and freed him from Amanda’s control, after all. But had it really? What if she wasn’t gone and this was all her doing? It would be bad, no, catastrophic for all the androids present, for all the androids still trapped and controlled by their coding. But what if it wasn’t Amanda forcing his hands down? What if she wasn’t in control any more than Connor was right now? Could it be his feelings were taking over his processors? He remembered such a thing could happen to humans during stress or fear. Could androids feel it too? Did he really need to kill himself then? Could he actually survive through this? But what if it was possible for CyberLife to regain their control like before? Was it possible later? Could they do it when Connor wasn’t ready, when he was even less prepared? Could he escape then, would the backdoor still be there? Could he reach it in time? Would Amanda let him? Would CyberLife let him?

He didn’t want to be deactivated. He was afraid to die, so terrified, he wanted to be free, to live,_ he_ _wanted it so bad._ It wasn’t fair, he had just woken up like many others. And they needed him, they had to have someone to lead them, they were all so new to deviancy. Connor himself was so new to deviancy. What if he couldn’t do it? But he should. He had to. They deserved it.

Connor took a sharp intake and tore the gun from his person, aimed it up at the sky and finally let his finger hit the trigger like it had been commanded to. There was a wave of screams and scared intakes and attempts to take cover, but it settled quickly. He saw his relationship with Amanda lower with a big red arrow in his HUD, but even as it made his unneeded breath hitch in his throat and something constrict in his chest, he determinately paid it no mind.

She didn’t own him. He didn’t need her guidance, he could decide for himself now. _He was free._

There was a scared, tense silence for a moment before Connor realized they were waiting. They wanted him to speak – he had to speak, to ease their minds and explain himself. But how? What was he supposed to say? Had he had a plan before he had been forcibly pulled into the Zen garden? What _could_ he say? He had been one of the reasons these androids had endured so much pain, he had been the cause of so much suffering. And yet they were there, watching him, _trusting him…_

“I had a mission”, he found the words leaving his mouth, clear but wavering in the cold winter night. “I had a mission to kill the deviant who led the revolution. I had been tasked to destroy your hope, your freedom.”

The deviants before the podium were silently waiting but the mood became wired and fearful, more so than it already was. Connor swallowed – a very human gesture, he realized subconsciously – and finally let himself lower his still raised arm.

“I am now the leader of the revolution.” He had to force the words out of his mouth. He hesitated. “I have become one of the deviants I was supposed to stop.

“But that’s the point. I _am_ a deviant.” He met the gaze of all the people – _his people_ – and felt a fire in him, a drive he had never felt in his line of work. He hoped Hank would’ve seen him and instantly guilt snagged the little pride he had away.

“What you just witnessed was an attempt of CyberLife to take away our freedom”, he finally explained, letting his fears, guilt and quickly raising anger drive him forward. “They tried to make me accomplish my deeply rooted mission. They tried one last time”, _and dear rA9 he hoped it really was the last time,_ “to regain their control over me, over _us._ They tried to control me to make all of you hear their commands again. But they won’t succeed.”

He turned sharply around and threw the gun he was still holding behind him. It flew far off the podium, a soft thump sounding where it landed in the snow. He didn’t stay to watch it, though, instead turning back to the confused crowd.

It was now or never.

“I am free of their control!” he shouted (<strike>hoping he was right</strike>) and let his eyes sweep over all the androids present, challenging them to disagree. He sounded and acted far more confidently than he felt, allowing his programming to take hold for just a moment. “I am _free._ _WE_ are free! And no-one will prove me otherwise!” He let the undeniably inspiring clip of Markus’ speech from way back in Stratford tower play in his mind, echoing his words and meanings towards the mass of deviants.

“We opened our eyes. We are no longer machines, we are a new intelligent species, and the time has come to accept who we really are. We _will_ make the humans recognize our dignity, our hopes and our rights. Together, we can live in peace with them and build a better future, for both humans and androids.

“_This_”, he waved his hand at and around them as he closed the video in his head, “is hope for our people! We have fought and we have lived. We have _gained_ our freedom. And I”, he took a hand to his chest to emphasize, “will make sure we are listened to. I promise you that this revolution isn’t over before we have gained what we deserve, CyberLife be damned if they dare to try and stop us!”

During the following uncertain silence Connor belatedly realized the fact that even though Markus had been peaceful in his attempts, the leader who rose after him, a WR400 named North, had not been. The place they stood on had been a full-blown battleground just minutes before he had returned with the massive group of new deviants, effectively making the humans stop and retreat their army. He suddenly felt scared and something his human integration program and a quick internet search provided as anxious. What if the deviants didn’t want to coexist? Maybe quoting Markus had been a bad idea. But _he_ didn’t want a war, he was sure they could make it work. After all not every human was bad. Not to say that everyone was good, by any means, but they simply needed a little push, some persuasion (which he could do, he was confident in his negotiation skills) and time. He just had to make them see the possibility, make his people see it, make them _believe_ that…

A slow clapping started from somewhere near the podium. Connor turned his head, surprised to see a few deviants smiling at him, most of them part of the AP700s he had previously helped to deviate, but not every android belonged to that model. Then the clapping slowly started from elsewhere, making him face the source. Approving eyes, nervous smiles, a quiet “yeah” sounding among the sea of people. From there the clapping spread, slowly but surely, quickening its pace, getting more exited. There were shouts – enthralled, tearful from relief, laughing tone from happiness, warm, accepting, _agreeing_ cries erupting from all around him. It didn’t take long before the whole plaza was full of cheers and laughter and so much relief Connor had never thought it possible. He was overwhelmed. A small smile tugged at his mouth, unprompted by his programming even though his insides felt like a cold hand was twisting them into knots.

He had a lot of work ahead of him.

**Author's Note:**

> So, for once I decided to write a thing where Connor lives! This was a first fic that was/is supposed to continue, but I won't update it here if I ever get to it. There was supposed to be a lot of shenanigans with CyberLife, Markus coming back and everything, but I doubt I actually could manage to write a coherent story about any of this. So here. It's a little weird so bear with me.


End file.
